SIX THINGS I DO TO HAVE A SUPER PRODUCTIVE MORNING

28/01/17

When I first decided to take my blogging journey full-time, I made a pact with myself that I would try as best as I could to stick to a classic 9 to 5 work schedule. Mostly, because I wanted to stay on the same sleep pattern as Chris.

I wanted to have a cup of tea together in the mornings and be able to enjoy our evenings as a couple without me pulling all-nighters to edit content whilst binge-watching Gilmore Girls in the background. Because let’s face it, it’s no fun being in a relationship with that girl.

Back in the day, I got most of my uni work done between the hours of 6pm and midnight, so trying to motivate myself to get out of bed before 8am to start writing words people would actually want to read was no easy feat.

But I’ve actually found that having a productive morning instantly puts me in a good mood because tbh is there any greater feeling (aside from yes, alright, love) than absolutely nailing your to-do list?

A recent study by belVita found that 89% of people believed having a good morning sets the tone for the rest of their day, with over 50 per cent also stating that if they have a good morning, they’re also more likely to help someone out.

So, in the spirit of having a killer 2017 and being a positive beam of bright sunshine to the people around us, here are my top tips for absolutely bossing it in the mornings like the absolute queen that you are.

1. DON’T SNOOZE

Sometimes my alarm goes off and I literally wonder what sort of wild animal of a friend is calling me in the middle of the night before realising that lol, nope, it’s 7.30am and time to wake up.

In the early days of working from home I’d treat myself to lie-ins because SO. MUCH. FREEDOM. But now find that I’m way more productive if I only allow myself 15 mins of Instagram and Twitter scrolling whilst my eyes wake up, before cracking on and getting out of bed.

2. GET ‘READY’

Some days this can mean showering and a full face of make-up, other days this literally can be washing my face, brushing my teeth and pulling on my comfiest tracksuit bottoms. And perfume, because there’s something about a spritz of something fresh and sexy that makes me feel like I can take over the world.

I try and make myself feel like I’m getting ready for something, rather than attempting to blur the line between downtime and work by sitting in bed with my pyjamas on and my laptop propped on my knees.

3. SIT AT A TABLE

Whilst setting up a home office and working from a desk didn’t work for me because it felt too structured and corporate, I do find there’s a huge difference in my mental motivation if I’m sitting upright at a desk or table.

I tend to head out to a local coffee shop super early, or set myself up a cosy desk space at my dining table, which instantly sends the message to my brain that it’s time to get down to business. The sofa’s fun, but it’s definitely more of a 4pm halfheartedly-replying-to-emails-after-a-busy-day kinda thing.

4. QUICK BREAKFAST

I find if I spend too long trying to whip up something elaborate for breakfast it makes me faff about too much and then cripes it’s midday and all I’ve done is schedule two tweets, FFS.

Now I tend to make a cuppa, and grab something quick that doesn’t interrupt my working flow, and then I’ll stop for a proper lunch break away from my screen once I’ve run out of steam.

I like belVita breakfast biscuits because they’re full of slow-release carbohydrates, which means they actually keep me full for longer than about two minutes.

Dr Stuart Farrimond, who has been working with belVita, says: ‘We know that having a good morning sets us up for a positive start to the day, however, unfortunately they might not happen as frequently as we would like. The new research conducted by belVita Breakfast shows that having breakfast in the morning can be a step towards putting this right by setting us up for the day and increasing both our mood and performance.’

I for one am always way too hungry to skip breakfast, so this news is sweet birdsong to my ears.

5. NOTEBOOKS

I have two notebooks that are my absolute life savers – my bullet journal, which has all my blog post ideas, personal and work diary calendars and sponsored collaborations, and my blank notebook which I fill with countless to-do lists and random brainstorms.

My head often feels so rammed with thoughts and worries and stresses and ideas that I feel unable to focus on anything, let alone everything. This is when I’ll grab a load of coloured pens and start scrawling – somehow staring at the chaos on the page makes me able to make sense of it and order it accordingly. It’s the only way I can turn a stressed out morning into a positive, productive one.

6. ATMOSPHERE

I’ve mentioned this in countless posts before, but working from an atmosphere that makes you feel all good and warm and relaxed and happy inside really is the key to not only getting stuff done, but actually wanting to get stuff done.

For me there’s no better feeling than smashing out a blog post whilst listening to old school noughties tunes that remind me of college, with a candle flickering away in the background, and a vase of flowers sitting there looking all pretty.

And that gals, is the true story go how I get anything done ever.

What else do you do to give yourself the best start to the day? Aside from going to bed at 9pm because lol, ain’t got time for tiredness.

This post is sponsored by belVita, but all tips and opinions my own, obvs.

With thanks to Chloe for her help with photos for this post, what a babe.